WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday voted to block the national emergency declared by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding border security.
The lower chamber of Congress voted by 245-182 for the one page resolution that would terminate Trump's emergency declaration, preventing him from building a border wall by tapping into funds allocated for other purposes.
The Democratic party voted unanimously for the bill, also picking up 13 Republican votes. The tally fell short of the number needed to overturn a presidential veto.
The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on the resolution in the coming weeks. With the Republican party in control, it is unclear if the chamber would clear the bill.
The move marks the first time that the U.S. Congress tried to block such a measure since it codified national emergencies in 1976.
The center of the debate lies on whether there is a "crisis" on the U.S. southwest border with Mexico. The Trump administration argued that the porous land border allowed illegal immigrants and criminals alike to enter the United States, driving up criminal rates.
The Republican party has by and large stood alongside with Trump on the issue. Representative Adam Kinzinger, a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, said Sunday he backed Trump's declaration after a recent two-week long deployment to the southwest border.
"I think if this was just an issue of immigration it wouldn't constitute a national emergency, but what I saw was really disturbing," Kinzinger told local media.
In the Senate, a handful of Republican lawmakers have expressed reservations on the emergency declaration, citing concerns that it would set a bad precedent for future Democratic presidents.
The Democratic party cited official figures as saying that the number of illegal immigrants have been on steady decline in recent years and any physical barrier would unlikely to serve its purpose.
"If it were truly an emergency, we'd all be there with the president," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday before the vote.
Trump, currently on a trip to Vietnam, declared the national emergency on Feb. 15 after Congress passed a spending bill with less money for the border wall than he had demanded.